Diminuto Historia - Do you live in Kelvyn Park, the old Kelvyn Grove?
If you’re familiar with the different eras of housing from older to newer as you trek north through Hermosa, the middling part with many things named “Kelvyn Park,” we can trace this back to an area called Kelvyn Grove.
Before 1890, the Chicago Daily Tribune reports that a real estate investor named J.F. Thompson owned the property we now know as the Kelvyn Park area between Fullerton and Diversey, and Kostner Ave (“44th Street”) and Cicero Ave (“48th Street”) from east to west. In August of that year the paper outlines 71 lots, likely already plotted by the municipality in the typical 30 or 25 foot wide by 125 foot deep lots.
“J.F. Thompson sold at his auction sale at Kelvyn Grove, in the district bounded by Fullerton and Diversey avenues and Forty-fourth street and Forty-eighth streets, seventy one lots, for about $17,000.” - c. 1890
And what do we know about how Kelvyn Grove came about? While there is likely more research to be done, we have found that a history-leaning historian from the 1950’s, Gladys Priddy has given us some clue in an article about neighboring community Belmont Craigin. She states
“an area north and east [of Belmont Cragin] was platted in 1874 and Scotch immigrants moved and named it Kelvyn Grove. Most of this area is now Hermosa.”
So we can conclude, if Gladys is correct, that between 1874 when it was a designated as a piece of land in Jefferson Township (soon to become part of Chicago in 1889), and sold in 1890, it was undeveloped land. This aligns with the many 1900s+ constructed homes that we see north of Fullerton.
Special points if you live on 4650 W Wrightwood (technically Belmont Cragin now, but was part of Kelvyn Grove), which was the “headquarters” for the Kelvyn Grove Improvement Association.
Written + researched by Lee Helmer, published July 24, 2019
Reference
Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922), Aug 06 1890, p. 9. ProQuest. Web. 24 July 2019 . "SOUTH SIDE CAR LINES.: EXTENSIVE OPERATIONS OF THE CHICAGO CITY RAILWAY COMPANY. WORK IN PROGRESS ON THE COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE EXTENSION AND THE SOUTH CHICAGO AVENUE LINE--FOUR ORDINANCES FOR NEW FRANCHISES BEFORE THE COUNCIL--A NUMBER OF NOTEWORTHY SALES--REAL-ESTATE NEWS OF INTEREST. NOTEWORTHY SALES. REAL ESTATE NOTES."
Priddy, Gladys. "CRAGIN HISTORY IS STORY BUILT AROUND 3 PLOTS: ONCE UPON A TIME WAS WHISKEY POINT." Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963), Jul 28 1955, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. 25 July 2019 .
